WWE Universe uses a schedule to mimic the real-life WWE calendar.

It’s not a perfect match, seeing as WWE Universe has only 12 pay-per-views and uses months that are only 28 days long, but it’s infinitely far more convenient this way rather than a real calendar. Basically, the game has its own calendar which contains four episodes of RAW, four episodes of Superstars, four episodes of SmackDown, and one pay-per-view per month.

Unlike last year, the game no longer gives you a ticker at the bottom of the screen what show is on “tonight” (the "ticker" is replaced by information on Community Creations, assuming you're on the PlayStation Network or Xbox Live). Instead, to know what's on the card, you must select WWE Universe from the main menu.

Exhibition Mode is still in the game, but it’s been renamed.

Exhibition mode is no longer called “Exhibition Mode,” but simply “Play.” From there (the top option of the main menu) you can create any type of match you want at any time.

This is important, based on why you bought WWE '12. If you bought the game to have occasional matches with friends, or to compete online, or run through the Road to WrestleMania stories and nothing else, then WWE Universe will barely affect you. As you’ll soon see, wrestlers are ranked in WWE Universe, but you can completely ignore the rankings if you’re just setting up custom exhibition matches.

WWE Universe is completely optional.

While playing WWE Universe, almost everything you do affects who gets in match ups. We'll go into more details in a moment, but the point is that the superstars and divas you book will continue to be booked; there is a momentum system, so if you start putting CM Punk in every episode of RAW, chances are the game will automatically start doing the same.

However, as previously mentioned, anything you do in Play mode happens like the Exhibition mode of old: there are no cinematics, rankings don’t change, and nobody will interfere in matches. The title lists are independent as well; CM Punk may be WWE Champion in Play Mode, but it might be Alberto del Rio in WWE Universe. This is what you want to do if you’re using WWE '12 just as a friendly, competitive fighting game or don’t want to bother with WWE Universe in general.

ALL titles can be defended at will in WWE Universe.

Unlike last year, you can defend the titles at will in any given card. Want to have a special RAW episode where you're making Randy Orton defend the ECW Championship against Santino Marella on the same night you have John Cena trying to win back the WWE Championship from CM Punk? Now you can!

Last year, the only way these titles could change hands in matches are on the scheduled pay-per-views. This year, as long as the given champion is involved in a match, it can be for a title. When you're selecting the match participants, press X (Xbox 360) or Square (PS3) on the champion to enter "Advanced Mode." Press the same button to make it a title match, then press A (Xbox 360) or X (PS3) to confirm it. Just like that, the match is on, and you can control either or both people if you have enough controllers and hands.

The only catch with WWE Universe is that you can't vacate a title (unlike Play Mode), and you must have the champion involved in title matches (also unlike Play Mode). So say you're trying to mimic the real WWE storyline of the Summer of Punk: CM Punk wins the title from John Cena, and then "quits." You can't simply create a new title, and you can't simply put John Cena against Alberto del Rio for the WWE Championship. However, you could put those two in a standard match, then just outright assign the winner a title, because...

You can override absolutely any decision made by the AI except for rankings, but even then, you can still override title decisions.

Did the AI turn John Cena heel and you absolutely want him to be a face? You can finish out the match, then override his turn by going to his Superstar Management screen. Likewise, you can make or break teams, alter relationships, trade a wrestler to a different brand, and of course just outright assign someone a title.

About the only thing you cannot do is outright vacate a title, but there is a way around that too. What you can do is make a custom wrestler named “Vacated” or something, and assign him as a Free Agent. Then, just give him all the belts that get moved around that you want to vacate. Because he’s not on the RAW or SmackDown brand, he’ll never show up in the rankings unless he owns whatever belt I’m looking at, and he’ll rarely show up for matches.

Be prepared for unpredictability.

WWE Universe introduces drama into almost every match you do. Entrances can be interrupted, pre-match beatdowns can occur, interference and counter-interference can change the flow of a match, new teams can form, new rivalries can appear, matches can be restarted, and more. Superstars can even turn, especially if you put two faces against each other or two heels against each other.

Your CAWs are subject to the same issues. If I put my Nightwalker and Locust (both CAW faces) in a match together, there is every chance that the AI will decide to make Locust beat the hell out of Nightwalker during his entrance and turn heel.

There are a couple ways out of this if something happens that you absolutely did not intend. First, if something very ridiculous happens, you can always quit the match. Any change in rankings, alignment, team status, and even championship only applies after the match concludes and you formally exit it. In the above situation, if Locust jumps Nightwalker and I immediately quit out, the “turn” doesn’t stick. Or, after a match, I can choose to restart the match, and then quit out; again, the changes that had happened don’t stick.